Who is Jed McCaleb?
Jed McCaleb is a big name in crypto. He co-founded Ripple and was its CTO, playing a key role in creating XRP.
He launched Ripple in 2012 but left in 2013 after clashing with other founders. Before that, he built Mt. Gox (the early Bitcoin exchange, later sold), and after Ripple, he started Stellar (XLM), a rival project.
Known for cashing in big on crypto, Forbes pegged his net worth at $2.4 billion in 2023, likely boosted further by XRP sales.
XRP Earnings
McCaleb got 9 billion XRP (9% of the total supply) when Ripple started.
After leaving, he sold it off gradually from 2014 to 2022, netting about $3.2 billion (~4 trillion KRW), per XRPScan data. The 2017–2018 crypto boom, when XRP spiked, was his goldmine.
A legal deal with Ripple paced his sales to avoid tanking the market, so he cashed out smoothly.
Space Station Plans
With that fortune, McCaleb’s now betting on space. His company, Vast, founded in 2021, aims to build an artificial-gravity space station.
Their first project, “Haven-1,” is slated for orbit by May 2026, with an estimated cost of $1 billion (~1.3 trillion KRW). McCaleb’s the sole funder, dipping into his XRP stash.
Vast is partnering with SpaceX, using Starship for launches and Dragon docking adapters, plus Starlink for Wi-Fi. They’re vying for NASA’s post-ISS contracts, set to be decided mid-2026. If they lose, that $1 billion could vanish.
Why Do This?
In a Bloomberg interview (March 20, 2025), McCaleb said he wants “humanity to live beyond Earth.” Like SpaceX’s Elon Musk, he’s chasing a multi-planetary future, adding, “Not many take these risks, so I stepped up.”
Vast competes with Axiom Space and Blue Origin, but McCaleb’s self-funding gives it flexibility.
Where It Stands
As of March 2025, Vast is assembling the Haven-1 prototype in Long Beach, California. Staff’s up to 740 (triple last year’s count), led by CEO Max Haot (ex-SpaceX). McCaleb, as chairman, visits weekly. Landing the NASA deal could turn this into a multi-billion-dollar venture, but failure means he eats the loss alone.
